1. Field
Apparatuses and methods consistent with the exemplary embodiments provided herein relate to a gear apparatus and an image forming apparatus including the same.
2. Description of Related Art
In a typical image forming apparatus, a photosensitive drum and an intermediate transfer belt are rotated at a predetermined speed that is driven by a driving motor through a respective gear apparatus. Accordingly, the photosensitive drum and the intermediate transfer belt may receive an impact load at a paper during charge or discharge periods. For example, when a paper is loaded into a secondary transfer unit, the intermediate transfer belt may receive an impact load. Also, because this impact is transmitted through the intermediate transfer belt, the photosensitive drum also receives an impact load. Such an impact may need to be suppressed because it may cause a drive non-uniformity of the intermediate transfer belt or a rotation non-uniformity of the photosensitive drum and may create a black stripe or a white stripe in a generated image.
Accordingly, related art attempts a scheme for increasing the rotation stiffness of the intermediate transfer belt or the photosensitive drum by the driving motor, particularly, a scheme for improving the stiffness of a gear that may be considered as a way of increasing resistance to an impact load. The related art describes a scheme for improving the stiffness of a gear by attaching a reinforcing plate to the gear. However, such a scheme is not ideal because a precise assembly process is required, and the precision of the gear may be difficult to maintain.